


Record and Rewind

by reveredsapphic



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Mixtape, Other, Peter is a dork, Valentine's Day, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 18:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16203371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveredsapphic/pseuds/reveredsapphic
Summary: Peter gifts you a personalized mixtape (on an actual cassette tape!!) for Valentine’s Day after he spotted an old Walkman on your desk.dialogue prompt: “I am so in love with you.”





	Record and Rewind

**Author's Note:**

> posted on my tumblr @/reveredsapphic as well! this was for a writing challenge and i’m glad with how it turned out! hope to have more works up soon!

The countdown to Valentine’s Day had started and Peter was stressed out. He had no ideas regarding the gift he was going to get you. Last year, he realized too late that his gift for you was totally lame, and he had promised to do better this year. He was so concerned with his job as Spider-Man that he’d focused on saving the streets of New York that he didn’t have time to plan a thoughtful gift but instead of criticizing him, you had just laughed, assuring him being happy together was the best gift of all time.

 

With 10 days left before the holiday, Peter finally noticed something in your room that sparked an idea. For some reason, you had an old Walkman laying on top of your desk next to your lamp. He walked over and picked it up.

 

“Where’d you get this?” He asked, holding up the tape player.

 

“Oh, I found it in the hall closet last week with a bunch of old cassettes. It was my dad’s. Surprisingly it still worked after I put some new batteries in it, so I’ve been listening to it while I do my homework.” Peter felt his heart swell while he listened to you talk so passionately about the old cassette player. “Pretty neat, huh?”

 

“Yeah babe, that’s really cool! Which tape is your favorite?”

 

You couldn’t help the smile that broke out across your face as you pushed play so Peter could hear your current favorite song. The two of you listened to tape after tape, and Peter couldn’t wipe the fond smile off his face as he watched you silently sing along with the music.

 

When Peter got home that evening after the study session, he immediately started searching how to create a mixtape and where he could buy _actual_ cassettes. He was determined to make you the best gift ever to show you how much you meant to him.

 

——

 

“May!” Peter shouted from his room. He was in the process of removing the plastic wrapping from the pack of cassette tapes he bought. Turns out the old CD shop he goes to for cheap music still sells cassette tapes, go figure.

 

“Yes, Peter?” Aunt May replied from the entrance to Peter’s room.

 

“Do you happen to have an old radio that has a way to record on a cassette tape? It’s a really strange question, I know, but it’s really important.” Peter asked, eyes wide with hope.

 

“I know I had one in college, I can check to see if I kept it,” May answered, smiling. She strolled to her room to check her closet, motioning for Peter to follow. The two walked across the apartment in silence, Peter following closely behind his aunt as though he’d get lost on the way to her room.

 

As Aunt May rummaged around the floor of her decently sized closet, Peter couldn’t help but drift his eyes around the room. It wasn’t often that he found himself in May’s room, they both respected each other’s space, which Peter was very grateful for, being a teenage boy and all. He cherished the few peeks he got into May’s room, it was like a look inside her brain. He smiled softly as his eyes landed on the small picture frame on May’s nightstand. It was May’s favorite picture in the whole world, Peter had just finished sixth grade and Aunt May and Uncle Ben had taken him out for ice cream to celebrate the beginning of summer. The three of them had wide smiles and bright eyes, each had their own glow of youthfulness. Peter’s thoughts were interrupted by May’s shout of triumph when she successfully found the old stereo Peter needed to execute his plan.

 

“Here you go sweetheart! Be very careful with it, it’s vintage after all,” Aunt May teased before handing Peter the large piece of equipment. He returned a soft smile before lugging the radio into his room.

 

Peter quickly plugged the old device in behind his desk, praying it would still work after many years of limited use. He tentatively turned the dial to the on position, smiling when he was immediately rewarded with the sound of static.

 

“Yes!” Peter celebrated. “May, it still works!”

 

The teenager smiled as he heard Aunt May’s whoop of satisfaction in response.

 

Immediately getting to work, Peter turned on the separate device he’d constructed to broadcast the playlist he wanted to record on a specific channel. He tuned the radio to match the station he intended to play the songs through, Peter knew he had to test to see if the music would be picked up by the stereo if he was going to record it on tape.

 

When the stereo and the device connected to his phone were matched up, he hesitantly played the first song of the playlist meant for you. He grinned as he heard the opening notes of the first song play quietly through the speakers on the stereo. Peter decided to listen to the playlist all the way through one last time to make sure it was perfect before he recorded it on to one of the cassettes.

 

Hands slightly shaky with excitement, Peter opened the tape deck before closing it on side A. He checked once last time that the stereo was on the radio function before pressing the record button. As soon as the tape started spinning, Peter hit play on his phone and he once again heard the first song start.

 

Peter hummed along softly to the songs, he watched the magnetic tape inside the plastic spin around, imagining your reaction to his gift. Peter could picture your face lit up by a brilliant smile and the thought made him sigh contently, he couldn’t believe someone as amazing as you would date a dork like him. He was making you a mixtape for crying out loud!

 

The brunette teen was pulled back into the present when he heard the final notes of the last song of the first half of the playlist. Peter had to record the second half of the mixtape on side B because each side was only able to hold 20 minutes of music.

 

Peter quickly rewound the tape and placed the radio into the cassette mode so he could listen to make sure all the songs had recorded clearly. The boy hurriedly pushed play, and was ecstatic when the music was broadcasted from the speakers. Everything had worked perfectly as planned.

 

Even though he had heard the playlist dozens of times at this point, he never stopped getting the butterflies in his stomach when he listened to these songs. They all reminded him of you in some way, some were your favorite songs to listen to whereas others were songs that made him think of you. He made sure to include his favorite love songs that never failed to bring a soft smile to his face as he imagined your relationship.

 

While waiting for the A side to rewind once again, Peter scrawled the tracklist of the first side on the paper that came with the cassette. He wrote down each song title and artist in a different colored pen, trying hard not to smudge the letters with the side of his hand.

 

Peter wrote down the song titles of side B on the same card as he repeated the recording process for the second side. After the playlist was done recording he stopped the cassette and rewound it again before removing it from the deck and placing it on his desk. Peter turned off the stereo and picked the completed mixtape up, smiling with satisfaction at the plastic cassette. Peter’s picked up a pen and wrote the title of the mixtape on the plastic.

 

Setting the tape back into it’s clear case with the finished tracklist, Peter smiled when he could clearly see ‘Love Mix 1’ through the opaque case. February 14th could not come soon enough.

 

—

 

The next Wednesday, Peter brought you flowers to school, and he hid a cheesy, store bought card in the bouquet. You couldn’t stop smiling throughout the day as each glance at the beautiful arrangement of your favorite flowers reminded you of Peter. You wouldn’t tell him this, but he’d already out done himself this time around, but you knew there were more surprises to come.

 

During lunch you were excited to see your favorite sandwich where you usually sat. Peter also ended up getting you your favorite coffee which was also placed at your seat. Throughout the hour you laughed with Ned, MJ, and Peter between bites of your lunch. When the bell rung, Peter walked you to class and confirmed that you were going to be studying at his apartment that night. You agreed to meet at his apartment after dinner so he could carry out some Spider-Man duties.

 

“Don’t forget your Walkman!” He called over his shoulder as he weaved his way through the hallway towards his own class. You raised your hand in a thumbs up, smiling as Peter waved before turning the corner.

 

—

 

That evening you walked the couple of blocks from your house to Peter’s, one earbud streaming music from the tape player to your ear.

 

Once you reached Peter’s apartment, you knocked softly on the door, unsure of whether Aunt May would be home to greet you or not.

 

“Hello, (y/n),” May said while opening the door. “Peter just got back from his internship and I think he hopped in the shower.”

 

You strolled inside the apartment, placing your backpack on one of the chairs surrounding the dining table before setting the Walkman on the tabletop.

 

“Thanks May, I’ll wait on the couch for him.” You scrolled through your social media for about 15 minutes until Peter poked his head out from his doorway, smiling and waving. You smiled back and grabbed your things before joining him in his room.

 

“Hm, missed you,” Peter proclaimed as he kissed the top of your head.

 

“You saw me a few hours ago, dork,” you snarked back, cuddling into his chest nonetheless.

 

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you! It is Valentine’s Day after all, it’s like _our_ day to be a sickeningly sweet couple.”

 

“I think we were plenty sickening at lunch,” you laughed. “I don’t think MJ and Ned could playfully roll their eyes _any_ harder!”

 

“Ok, fine, I concede! We were pretty couple-y at lunch!” You grinned in triumph as Peter threw his hands up and made his way to his messy desk. The random piles and assortment of papers was distracting, but not overwhelming enough to cause you to miss the small red box placed in the center of his work space.

 

“Anyways,” Peter transitioned, picking up the box and turning to hand it to you, “your final gift.”

 

You took the box from his hand and smiled softly, sitting on his bed to open it. Lifting off the cover you found a single cassette tape amongst a bed of pink and white tissue paper. You picked up the tape to find it decorated with Peter’s handwriting and small doodles.

 

“Peter,” you started, reading the title _Love Mix 1_ , “this is so amazing! I absolutely love it! Does it really play?” Peter beamed at your excitement, meeting your eyes after your rambling.

 

“Of course! Here hand me your Walkman, (y/n), I want the songs to be a surprise.” You giggled at your boyfriend’s eagerness, his actions were positively adorable. You handed him the cassette and the Walkman. Peter inserted the tape to Side A and sat down next to you on his mattress, offering you an earbud.

 

You followed his lead and laid down before putting one earbud in your right ear. Peter pushed play and you immediately recognized the opening notes to one of your favorite songs. You grabbed Peter’s hand which was resting at your side and you turned your head to meet his gaze and exchange smiles. Peter stared into your eyes in adoration as your lips twitched everytime you recognized the next song that played.

 

“Peter, I absolutely love this, thank you.” You gushed when Peter stopped the tape to change to Side B.

 

“I’m glad you like it, babe. Now this side is a little different because I made it of songs that remind me of you, so you might not recognize them all.”

 

“M’kay,” You nodded, pressing play. The first few notes of the first love song played and you closed your eyes, completely overwhelmed by the beauty of the song. Peter turned his head slightly to watch you get absorbed in the music. He was completely blown away by you, how ethereal you looked in the low light of his room, how your chest rose and fall with even, serene breaths. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching his hand up to brush a stray strand of hair from your facing before placing a soft kiss on your cheek. You smiled and opened your eyes once again, turning your own head to face Peter.

 

“I really like these songs, Pete, they’re really pretty.” You spoke up, breaking the silence. After a few seconds of only Peter gazing at you without responding, you decided to speak up again.

 

“Peter what are you-“

 

“God, **I am so in love with you** , (y/n).” He breathed, breaking eye contact to glance at your lips before reconnecting your eyes. He pressed his lips to yours, passionately, sighing when he felt you smile into the kiss.

 

“I love you too, Peter,” you replied, running your left hand through his curls. “I don’t think I could stop myself if I tried.”

 

“That’s reassuring to hear,” Peter giggled, “because I’m absolutely head over heels for you, (y/n); and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon.”

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, dork,” You rolled your eyes lovingly. “Now rewind the tape, I wanna listen to it again.”


End file.
